From: cd6699@notformail.com   
      
   On Wed, 10 Dec 2025 21:38:18 -0500, ehsjr  wrote:   
      
   >On 12/10/2025 6:14 PM, Cursitor Doom wrote:   
   >> On Wed, 10 Dec 2025 21:58:21 +0000, liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid   
   >> (Liz Tuddenham) wrote:   
   >>   
   >>> Cursitor Doom  wrote:   
   >>>   
   >>> [...]   
   >>>> He said, "Give the heads a good clean,   
   >>>> then." I said, "They don't look dirty." He said, "Give 'em a good   
   >>>> clean anyway and see if that fixes it." So I did (not having any faith   
   >>>> it would help in the least, however). Nevertheless, full recording was   
   >>>> instantly restored!   
   >>>   
   >>> I asked if you had cleaned the heads right at the beginning of this   
   >>> thread.  The tineiest of gaps between the head and the tape can have   
   >>> quite drastic effects on reproduction and even worse ones on recording.   
   >>   
   >> I'm not seeing it for some reason. Can you give me the message ID?   
   >   
   >On Wed, 26 Nov 2025 09:55:24 +0000, liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid   
   >(Liz Tuddenham) wrote:   
   >   
   > > Cursitor Doom  wrote:   
   > >   
   > >> I've been trying to trace an issue with a Uher tape deck in respect of   
   > >> extremely  low audio gain during recording. I was delighted when I   
   > >> spotted a resistor in the AGC section with a tiny blow-hole half way   
   > >> down its body. I was able to confirm this when I removed it for   
   > >> examination under a stereoscope. There was even a bulge under the hole   
   > >> where some pressure had clearly built-up immediately prior to the   
   > >> blow.'Easy fix!' I thought; 5 minutes and it's done. However, I was   
   > >> baffled when it tested spot-on its 1200 intended ohms! WTF?? Something   
   > >> must have pulled excess current through that component and the obvious   
   > >> culprit was the BJT it was the series resistor for. However, once   
   > >> again, it tested fine! I just never have encountered an outcome like   
   > >> that before. Anyone had similar?   
   > >   
   > > Have you cleaned the tape heads?   
   >   
   >Yes, but not for that reason as the fault just suddenly manifested out   
   >of nowhere.   
      
      
   Much oblig'd. Clearly what happened here is that in the pile of old   
   tapes I was working through, there was a section of tape that was   
   shedding oxide (very common with old tapes) which undid all the prior   
   cleaning effort. I did mention subsequently that when I tried the   
   suggestion from the Ferrograph guy I was expecting no positive outcome   
   as the heads *appeared* perfectly clean to me. Just goes to show how a   
   tiny bit of invisible foulage can throw a real spanner in the works   
   for the unwary. Lesson learned!   
      
      
   >   
   >   
   >   
   >   
   >>   
   >>> Another cause of those symptoms, which is sometimes discovered by   
   >>> complete beginners, is having the tape twisted so they are trying to   
   >>> record or play though the backing material.  Some tapes that have   
   >>> 'bootlaced' can have an entire twisted section in the middle of an   
   >>> otherwise right-way-around tape.  I have also seen spillages due to   
   >>> putting the spools on upside down, so they unwound under power instead   
   >>> of winding up.   
   >>>   
   >>> The most confusing decks of all are those with non-standard tape paths   
   >>> and winding systems.  One Truvox deck ran the tape from right to left   
   >>> and several early machines had anticlockwise takeup spools that wound   
   >>> the tape oxide-outwards.   
   >>   
      
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